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Thursday, August 30, 2018

Interview with Mart Grams, author of The Failed Experiment

Title: The Failed Experiment

Author: Mart Grams

Publisher: XLibrisUS

Genre: Social Science/Ethnic Studies

Format: Ebook

When the American government was founded, the Founders and Framers assumed a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” That government is dying. It is under the authority of not “we, the people” but rather a small elite that is trying to snuff out the great experiment of man ruling himself, the common man, the man that within the right system of government can attain his purpose to achieve happiness. Were the Framers wrong? Were the ideas of Alexander Hamilton right? Is man incapable of self-rule? Does he need to be taken care of, watched, manipulated? No! It is not a failed experiment! It is time to retake that government.

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?I grew up in a home as the only one that finished high school, let alone college. Yet, my parents worked hard, and I never was cold, hunger or naked. They made sure we three kids worked hard, had chores, and remembered where we came from. Until I was in 9th grade, we lived in Milwaukee, but my dad found a better job in Marshfield WI. So, we moved from big city to small farm. Entering high school as a new kid was not at all what I hear kids supposedly go through today. I was involved in FFA, sports, school newspaper, and it was a great experience. Joined the Army, served in military intelligence, returned home met a great woman, had two sons and slept together for 35 years; she passed away 10 months ago. ALL of that made me, Me. Small town values layered on top of big city experiences, none of which were bad, frightening, or disruptive. We saw no race, though our neighborhood had every race, religion, economic status. We’d go Trick-or-Treating with pillow cases until we could see any more. We played together, fought each other over who was up to bat, and slept at each other’s houses. So being who you are and not caring about others is part and parcel of telling what is, regardless. When and why did you begin writing?My first writing experience was maybe when I was 10-12 years old. For Christmas, my sister, my brother and I put on the Christmas Carol for our parents. Not an easy script with three actors playing a dozen characters, especially with a 7-year old and a 5-year old. The first writing assignment was as play critic for school newspaper. What’s harder than writing plays, is critiquing them done by your classmates. It taught me that truth is not easily accepted and often hurts. What do you consider the hardest thing about writing?As I said above, truth hurts. I have never written anything I was not certain was true, either based on data, or a great logical argument. Ideas are difficult to get across; they are the essence of change, but if words mean different things to pre-biased minds, that makes it more difficult to engage, discuss, change minds. But, that’s what I’ve been doing since I first stepped into a classroom. Even more difficult is the discipline to sit down and put nose to grindstone, fingers to keyboard. I literally, write constantly in my mind, but if a great idea pops in there, and I don’t write it down, it changes the flavor of the book. Do you intend to make writing a career?I don’t know; frankly, the amount of work involved sometimes seems MUCH larger than the reward. I don’t do it for the money, rather the discussion from those that have actually read it. Every word on a page is there to ask the reader, are you sure? Just look at what I just said, do you agree, why? Do you think that’s crazy? Why? Do you have a specific writing style?I write like I talk. Every one that has read anything I’ve written, and later talk top me about it, say the same thing; it’s like your writing it just for me. Like I taught, things that you think others wouldn’t understand the first time, need explanation right in the text. Explain it, before the reader gets lost.

Married, two sons, had to endure sons to get granddaughters, 30 years of teaching in northern Wisconsin. Written three previous books: The Great Experiment, Economics for the Remnant, Words My Grandfather Gave Me, a fanatic of the American Dream, lives in small town with his wife Linda and their two cats, Miss Bailey and Stumpy.